


Wanderings

by queermoraghid (TheDoctorIsIcecube)



Series: Torna: The Golden Flufftry [7]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Family Fluff, Gen, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-11 00:55:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15961247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDoctorIsIcecube/pseuds/queermoraghid
Summary: Malos and Jin are kept up by Mikhail being unable to sleep, so they come up with a spontaneous solution.





	Wanderings

“Father, does he ever sleep?” Jin looked up on hearing the quiet statement to see Malos looking over to the window. Sure enough, Mikhail had got out of bed for the fourth time in the last two hours and wandered over to look out of it. 

“Doesn’t seem like it,” he muttered back, stifling a yawn. Blades weren’t quite as reliant on sleep as humans were, but that didn't mean it was nice to be stirred from his doze every half an hour by a restless child. 

“He must be exhausted,” Malos said. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen him sleep through the night, not for all the time I’ve had him tagging after me.” Jin immediately thought back to how Mikhail had been when they’d been together on Torna, but he couldn’t remember anything useful.

“How do people get kids to sleep?” Jin looked over at Mikhail, who was hanging half out of the window, staring intently at something on the floor below. Probably a small bird or some sort of rat. “What are we supposed to do, take him for a walk?” 

“You’re the one who’s looked after kids before,” Malos said. Jin felt a pang of sadness at that and made sure to fix his gaze firmly on Mikhail. Think about the present, not the past. “Hell, how did you get him to sleep before?”

“He just used to curl up next to the fire and go to sleep,” Jin said, shrugging. “I guess the core crystal makes it harder for him to sleep.” He sighed. “Perhaps we really should just take him for a walk.” 

Malos nodded. “Hey, kid,” he said, raising his voice slightly to an audible level. Mikhail practically jumped out of his skin and span round. “Do you want to get out for a bit? To tire yourself out a tad.”

“Uh...okay.” Mikhail seemed oddly suspicious. Jin wondered if anyone had ever volunteered to take him out for a walk before. “Are both of you coming with me? I don’t wanna go alone or something.” 

Malos laughed. “I think Jin would personally rend my organs from my body if I said you had to go alone,” he said. “Besides, you’re not telling me that you know your way around the city. Let’s get going.” Despite what he was saying, Jin could tell that Malos cared quite a bit about Mik getting back okay.

He stood up as well, reluctant to leave the warmth of his bed but knowing full well that he would definitely get more sleep after this. It was pretty damn dark outside, which of course didn't bother Malos and Mikhail, but Jin already knew that he was going to try and steer their walk towards one of the night markets, or someplace else that would have lights.

They walked in silence for a while. There were all kinds of people who could be listening in Mor Ardain, after all, and there were also people who could potentially recognise any one of them. In fact, Jin had no idea why they were still in this city at all, other than the fact that it was a whole lot bigger than many of the cities in Alrest, and it had been relatively untouched by the Aegis War. The possibility that a soldier would recognise himself or Mikhail was far too high.

He kept his head down, but neither Malos nor Mikhail seemed to share that same inclination. Mikhail in particular was bouncing along between the two of them, keeping up a very fast running commentary on everything ‘cool’ and ‘awesome’ that he could see. It was quite the change from the shy child who’d tailed them around Torna and Gormott or the quiet boy who’d been cooped up in the same inn room as him for the last couple of days.

“Are you feeling okay, Mikhail?” He asked. Malos had warned him that, in the time just after he’d picked Mik of the streets of Indol, he’d get feverish seemingly randomly. Maybe there was something wrong.

“What? Yeah, I’m fine!” He grinned, then skipped off ahead to go and pick up an interestingly shaped rock from the floor. Jin glanced over at Malos, who shrugged. 

“Maybe you should check that his core crystal’s functioning fine,” Jin suggested quietly. He’d do it himself, but he wasn’t sure how his own ether would interact with Mikhail’s dark abilities. It seemed better to leave that task to Malos. 

“Maybe he was just getting stir crazy,” Malos said. “He’s a kid. Probably bored out of his mind until now.” Jin looked over at Mikhail, who was turning the rock over in his hands, and raised his eyebrows. “Fine, I’ll take a look.”

“Thank you.” Jin hoped there wasn’t anything wrong, and that Malos was right and Mik was just bored. But he didn't know the first thing about kids, not really, and Mikhail being some bizarre blade-human fusion was totally uncharted territory. Anything could be going on in his head.

Malos headed over to where Mikhail was, only a few paces away. Jin glanced up and down the street, but even if there was someone nearby it would be difficult to see them. He just hoped that this was a quiet process. There could even be people looking from their windows right now, but it couldn’t wait. Hopefully, if anyone saw them, they would just assume that this was totally normal blade business. A surprisingly large amount of humans seemed almost entirely clueless regarding what went on in the lives of blades. Even drivers didn't know everything. 

“Hey, Mik,” Malos said quietly. “Let me check the crystal?” Mikhail practically jumped backwards, but after a moment he nodded, looking away as Malos came closer. Architect, he really did hate that thing.

Jin watched carefully, although he was mostly on guard for anyone else who might decide to come and watch. Who knew how many humans were just itching for a chance to report something like this to the city guards? As he watched, Malos laid his hand over Mikhail’s core crystal, closing his eyes. Jin felt the ether in the air vibrate, and he had a feeling that every blade in the surrounding area would have felt it too. And then the five streetlamps closest to Mikhail went out, which was a dead giveaway.

“Kid,” Malos said firmly. “The core crystal is slowly being accepted into your body but you need to tell me when the ether’s building up. You can’t process it on your own yet.” So much for not really caring about him, then. The concern in Malos’ voice was obvious.

“Sorry,” Mikhail mumbled, sounding slightly less energetic now. Jin walked over, crouching down a little to look him in the eye.

“Are you feeling a little better now? We can keep on walking, if you’d like.” Knowing Mikhail, he was probably too stubborn to end their walk just because he’d had half the ether drained from his body.

Mikhail nodded. “I like it out here,” he said. If Jin was being honest, he didn’t like the city. The air wasn’t clear, and it was very dry here in Mor Ardain. It rained, of course, but the rapid acceleration of Ardainian technology had stripped the city of most of its natural beauty. Torna had been relatively built up, but at least Tornans had an appreciation for nature. They co-existed with it, rather than ripping it out at every opportunity. 

“Do you want to go see the markets, Mik? They’re pretty at this time of night.” And a little less dark, Jin thought to himself. Mikhail nodded, and fell into step with him and Malos as they made their way towards the market. He was noticeably a lot calmer already, and Jin could just tell that once they got back to the inn, he’d be out like a light.

The night markets were in a rather shady part of town, but few people were foolish enough to try and rob three people. Or, two strong people and a kid. As long as they stayed on their guard, the markets were perfectly safe. And the range of goods they had on offer were certainly...interesting. Lots of weapons. Salvaged items, broken or failed technology. The occasional core crystal cropped up too, which never failed to make Jin’s blood boil. But no one would ever question their presence here for fear of being questioned in return.

Mikhail, as he usually did whenever they came to the markets, night or not, bounded out from between them to go and explore the stalls. The stallholders always looked rather surprised to see a kid out here, but they never questioned it. It had worried Jin, the first time they’d been here, because any kind of break in their anonymity could put them at risk, but seeing even the tiniest amount of joy in Mikhail’s stride made a welcome difference from his mood most of the time.

As usual, Mik wasn’t interested in actually getting anything; he just wandered from stall to stall, keeping fairly close, looking at everything. Jin was happy to let him indulge his curiosity. Today, he seemed particularly keen on a stall selling little salvaged trinkets, spending several minutes delving through a pile of small metal objects in search of anything interesting. He didn't find anything, and he only withdrew to stifle a heavy yawn. 

Malos chuckled. “Want to go back now, kid?” He asked. Mikhail blinked sleepily and then nodded. He’d crashed pretty quickly, as kids were prone to doing. “Sure. At least we all got a chance to stretch our legs.”

“Carry me back,” Mikhail mumbled, phrasing it as a (very tired) demand, not a question. Jin looked at Malos, who shrugged. Jin sighed, bending down to pick Mikhail up and deposit the young boy on his shoulders.

“You’d better hold on tight,” he warned. “I don’t want to drop you.” He’d thought about refusing, because Mikhail wasn’t really tiny, and Jin was also tired, but Architect. Mik never asked for anything and he definitely never demanded anything. He definitely knew that he was too tired to walk back if he’d said this.

“Mhm,” was all he got in response. Jin glanced at Malos, who stepped behind the two of them, ready to catch Mik just in case he did manage to doze off on Jin’s shoulders. Jin turned around to start walking back, Mikhail bouncing up and down just slightly. He was a sweet kid, despite his various...interesting issues. 

The walk back was slower than the walk out, because Jin was trying to be very careful with Mikhail. It was good to see the kid let his guard down a little, though. The fact that he was relaxed enough to almost fall asleep on Jin’s shoulders felt a lot like a victory, even if it was incredibly impractical.

The owner of the inn they were staying in gave him a slightly odd look as they entered, probably because Mikhail had never shown any inclination to sit on anyone’s shoulders before. But Jin paid it no mind, instead heading up the stairs, carefully easing Mik down from his perch, and settling him into his bed. Jin was pretty sure he was asleep before he’d even left the kid’s side.

“Well that was an experience,” Malos said, glancing over at Mikhail’s now sleeping form. “He sure as hell crashed fast.”

“That’s kids for you,” Jin murmured. He didn't want to say it out loud, or even think about it too much, but Lora had been the same when she was much younger. He was quiet for a moment, just watching Mikhail’s sleeping form with a soft smile on his lips. 

“We’re not going to be shoving him off in the first suitable place, are we?” He asked. Jin looked over at him, slightly surprised. Maybe that had been Malos’ plan, once things had settled down. Looking after a child was hard work, after all. But still...no. Jin would definitely not be abandoning Mikhail any time soon.

“Of course not,” he said. “Poor kid deserves something...vaguely stable in his life, after all the shit he’s been through. And I guess we’re better than nothing.” He cast one last glance down at the sleeping Mikhail, then turned away. “We should get to bed…” 

“Guess so,” Malos said. They fell silent for a couple of minutes, trying to get to bed without waking Mikhail, though honestly Jin rather doubted that anything would wake that kid at this point. When they were both settled, Malos spoke up again. “Sleep well, Jin.”


End file.
